European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform

Emmanuel Katrakis has served as Secretary General of the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) since September 2014. He is responsible for the continuous development of the Confederation which currently represents, through its Member Federations, more than 5 500 companies across Europe recycling various resource streams (household, commercial & industrial waste, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles).

His policies include raising awareness about the instrumental role played by recycling in sustainable development and fostering recycling-friendly policy measures. Mr Katrakis is a regular speaker at international conferences dealing with recycling and a member of various expert groups set up by the European institutions to support the transition to a more circular economy.

Mr Katrakis graduated in European law from the College of Europe and the University of Paris II Pantheon-Assas. EuRIC is the Confederation representing the interests of European recycling industries at EU level.

Through its various branches covering the vast majority of waste streams, EuRIC brings together national recycling/resource management federations and companies from more than 23 European countries which are active locally and globally. 
EuRIC represents over: 

• 5 500+ companies generating an aggregated annual turnover of about €95 billion, including large companies and SMEs involved in the recycling of and trade in various resource streams;
• 300 000 local jobs which cannot be outsourced to non-EU countries;
• a million tons of waste recycled each year (metals, paper, glass, plastics, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles, etc.). 

By turning waste into resources, recycling is the link which reintroduces recycled materials into value chains again and again. Recyclers play a key role in bridging resource efficiency, climate change policy and industrial transition.

Ignacio Calleja has a Bachelor's degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza, an M. Sc. in Technology and Environmental Management from the University of the Basque Country, an M.Sc. in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, and is a postgraduate in Technology Management at the University of Sevilla.

He joined EIT Rawmaterials in September 2016 as Thematic Officer for Circular Economy and Recycling, leading the Circular Economy strategy and representing EIT RM at different European entities. He is currently involved in coordinating the Cross KIC Circular Economy Action. 

The EIT Circular Economy Community consists of five Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) – namely EIT RawMaterials, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility.

The KICs carry out activities that cover the entire innovation chain: training and education programmes, reinforcing the journey from research to market, innovation projects, business incubators and accelerators. Through the KICs, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) strengthens cooperation among businesses (including SMEs), higher education institutions and research organisations, forms dynamic pan-European partnerships, and creates favourable environments in which creative thought processes and innovations can flourish. 

The Conseil Européen de Remanufacture (European Remanufacturing Council) is based in Brussels and represents multiple business sectors and trade associations that extend the life of products through remanufacture and refurbishment. A steering group made up of five member organisations advises on the annual work programme as we aim to increase sales of remanufactured products in Europe from €30 billion to €100 billion by 2030.

David Fitzsimons became Director of the European Remanufacturing Council in January 2017. He represents the Council at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with whom he led the “BetterThanNew” project. He is currently a member of the UN working group on product life extension; a member of TC 323 for the forthcoming ISO standard (59000 series) for the circular economy; a member of the advising committee for the PLATE conference, and a member of the World Economic Forum Council for advanced manufacturing and production.

He founded the circular economy consulting firm Oakdene Hollins in 1994 and is now director of the management board.

Arthur ten Wolde is the Executive Director of Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation. Ecopreneur represents about 3000 businesses in five Member States, mostly SMEs, which strive to deliver sustainable products and services. Arthur is internationally recognised as a circular economy expert, motivational speaker and (co-)author of several reports and many articles in magazines.

In addition, he is the EU policy expert for MVO Nederland, Trainer Circular Design for CIRCO and Head and Owner of Circular Future. Arthur worked earlier for De Groene Zaak, IMSA and the Dutch Industry Confederation VNO-NCW. 

Sofie works as a policy advisor for the international policy unit at OVAM, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders, which ensures that Flanders deals with waste, materials and soil in a well thought out and environmentally sound manner. Since 1981, OVAM has been developing a balanced mix of economic and regulatory instruments on waste, materials and soil that has made the Region of Flanders one of the frontrunners in Europe in this field.

We are joining forces with our partners in business, civil society, research and government to develop a circular economy, taking a multi-stakeholder participatory approach. Circular Flanders, which was initiated by OVAM, serves as hub, inspiration and matchmaker for the transition to a circular economy in Flanders. We implement measures that go beyond sorting and recycling waste to make a systemic shift from take-make-waste to a new economic model that factors in the scarcity of raw materials and the ecological limits of our planet.

Oana Neagu is Director of the General Affairs team at Copa Cogeca. The team covers topics related to the circular and bio-economy, the environment and climate change, research and innovation, food waste, etc. Oana is an agricultural engineer and has a Master’s degree in business administration. She previously worked at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture as a policy officer, in charge of managing market measures. Prior to joining the Commission in 2006, she was the adviser on European integration at the Ministry of Agriculture in Romania, and was involved in preparing Romania’s accession to the European Union.

She is a member of the management committee of the multi-stakeholder platform on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU and actively involved in various expert groups on the bioeconomy, forestry and rural development.

Copa and Cogeca are the united voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU. Together, they ensure that EU agriculture is sustainable, innovative and competitive, guaranteeing food security for half a billion people throughout Europe. Copa represents over 23 million farmers and their families whilst Cogeca represents the interests of 22 000 agricultural cooperatives. They have 66 member organisations from the EU Member States https://copa-cogeca.eu/Menu.aspx Copa and Cogeca is one of the founding members of the European Bioeconomy Alliance - http://www.bioeconomyalliance.eu/

Alyssa Jade McDonald-Bärtl is a social entrepreneur working to evolve standards to influence food sovereignty and agroecology. She is a board member of UnternehmensGrün, the German Federal Association of Green Economy and currently holds the seat of Vice President on the board of Ecopreneur, the European Federation of Sustainable Business, who's purpose is to set a course towards sustainable economic policies on the European level to support the economic and societal transformation across Europe and beyond.  

Commercially, Lyss founded BlyssChocolate.com, CACAO.Academy, and ChangeMaker.Land. 

Jana Žůrková is the Network Development & Innovation Manager at RREUSE. She joined the organisation in 2016. In her role, Jana coordinates key support services to RREUSE members - social enterprise active in a circular economy, notably in the field of re-use and repair. She leads capacity building of the network by facilitating exchange of good practices, business models and innovation and coordinates data collection, research and partnerships among RREUSE members and external partners.

REUSE is an international network representing social enterprises active in the field of re-use, repair and recycling. Drawing on the first-hand experience of its members, RREUSE's mission is to ensure that policies, innovative partnerships and the sharing of best practices promote and develop the role of social enterprises in the circular economy. At the heart of RREUSE's vision for Europe are circular activities that foster social value and create locally inclusive jobs whilst supporting vulnerable individuals. RREUSE federates 31 members across 29 European countries and the USA.

François-Michel Lambert is a Member of Parliament, having been elected in the 10th constituency of the Bouches-du-Rhône (Southern France).

He is a member of the Sustainable Development and Country Planning Commission at the National Assembly, and also holds the position of president of the France-Cuba Friendship group at the National Assembly.

He is founding president of the Institute for Circular Economy, a multi-stakeholder association composed of 200 members, companies, communities, NGOs and schools that defines and implements a transformation of our economic model to emerge from a society of waste and move towards the development of an economy focused on the preservation and efficient use of resources. The Institute has become the French reference and the main partner of the public authorities.

Mr Lambert received the Marianne d'Or award for sustainable development for his proactive action to bring about a shift towards a circular economy.

Simina Lakatos has been founding president of the Ernest Lupan Institute for Circular Economy and Environment (IRCEM) since 2012. She has economic and technical knowledge, abilities and experience: she holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. Honours in Materials and Environment Engineering. She obtained a Doctorate in Engineering and Management in 2011 after defending her thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility.

Simina has been part of the Department of Management and Engineering Economics of UTC since 2011, where she teaches and researches the following areas: sustainable development with a focus on the circular economy, strategic management with a focus on the social economy, enterprise assessment and marketing and international management, all of which helps her to develop IRCEM. Her focus is on accelerating the transition towards circularity from the bottom up with concerted actions, developing practical and scalable solutions, organising local/regional/EU campaigns, and communicating and involving others in the dissemination of information on the circular economy and messages on sustainable development. Simina is Romanian and speaks fluent English and Italian.